Hello Everyone, I am considering installing an on-grid solar ☀️ system at my roof top. I am based in Ghaziabad (Uttar Pradesh). I would love to know your opinions: 1. How does cost vary if I go for a well reputed brand like Tata vs LoomSolar 2. Any other good recommendations are welcome. 3. I know we need to clean the solar panels periodically. What is the frequency ? Is it like everyday cleaning is required ? 4. Is government adjusting the bill using net-metering without much hassle OR Is it still NOT clear to government officials ? 5. Any specific things that I need to be careful about ? 6. What is the ROI on investment ? Thanks in advance 🙂

I have roof-top solar in Pune, but a lot of what you ask is local government dependent so take everything I say with a pinch of salt and do you own local research. 1. Check the yield curves of the panels since panels start degrading after ~15-20 years. My panels are guaranteed to not drop below 80% yield in 20 years, IIRC. Also go with panels with higher density - i.e. more kwH generated on the same panel, they are more expensive but you need fewer panels to reach installation capacity. 2. Tata, Vikram Solar make good panels with 25 years warranty. 3. Not very frequently. My panel output shows very little change with no cleaning. But I live in an area with lots of trees, reasonable air quality and don't live close to a highway, So I clean perhaps once in 6 months, and let the rains do their job now. 🙂 4. It is very easy in Pune, they just take pictures of the 2 electric meters every month - total generation, how much of it was fed to the grid and how much I consumed from the grid. 5. Not that I can think of 6. When I installed this system, it cost about 1 lakh rupees per kW. Now prices are half of that. So while I will need 7-8 years for ROI, at current prices it would take only about 4 years.

My parents have installed this at their house back in my hometown. I can only answer 3 and 4. 3. The clean the panels every two to three days. Run some water over the panels with a hose. But this depends on how much dust your panels accumulate in the first place. 4. No hassles (yet 🤞). Amit's answer is better explained, but I thought I'd chime in with another experience.

@witty-air-63049 If you want them to save some labour, ask them to measure output (units) after not cleaning for a month. It shows up in the bill.

Will do! Thanks for the tip!

So the surplus power that solar panels generate in sunny days during summer, is that compensated during monsoons? Because, obviously I am assuming that solar panels won't work in monsoons to cater to the entire home.

Yes. Unused units (

sold to grid - consumed from grid

) are credited to your account. So if you consume less electricity one month but more the next month, your credit is used before you are billed. The credit is

encashed

every 31st March - money is credited to your account. The panels generate electricity throughout the year (depending on location) - see my graph above. And generation and consumption is higher in summers (due to ACs, mostly), so I actually get credit in other months because the ACs are off most of the time in Pune weather.